Question about shells..........

Have been reading more on shells and the difference oz. loads. I had an opportunity to shoot yesterday at a local club with a gentleman who brought a couple guns for me to try (still searching for my first gun!). He reloads and he gave me a box of 7/8oz. to shoot, he makes those for his new shooters and the kids. Can I buy 7/8 oz. or are they really expensive? I was also wondering what you guys recommend as far as shells go.... is there really a big difference in the type of shells out there? Thanks.....Jill

7/8th oz factory loads for a 12 gauge gun are not easily available if at all. 7/8oz loads for a 20 gauge gun is normal. Trap is a 12 gauge game so if you're going to get seriously or even semi-seriously involved then look for a 12 gauge gun in your price range. See if you can try the 12 gauge guns of other shooters at your club so you can find the style that works best for you.

Hi!
Mixer's right. You'll need a 12 ga. I don't know how you are built, but if you can find a BT99 or some kind of single barrel trap, something that fits you, that's the way to go. You want something that has some weight to it to absorb recoil, and shooting light loads will help. The 7/8 factory shells that are made seem to always be loaded hot. By that, they are a super fast shell with too much powder, in my opinion. If you have a good friend that reloads, a 7/8 oz. shell is great. Something that is in the 1145 fps range would be good. If you are buying new shells, stay away from anything that is "3 dram eqiv." or faster than 1200 fps. Big box stores seem to always carry shells that are shoulder busters. Stay with 1145 fps if you can. These can be difficult to find, but check out Dunham's, Dick's, Gander Mtn, etc. and different locations. They may all not carry the same stuff. The nice thing about shooting reloads is that you can adjust all the shot and powder levels down to meet your comfort level. And, 7/8 will make a bag of shot last ALOT longer than heavier loads.
Good luck to you. Happy 4th!
-powderburn

You are getting some good stuff from the posters. I am going to give you my perspective, it is only mine. I don't quote speed or too much technical data, my take will be from a realistic stand point. Depending on where you are located you may or may not have access to a plethora of different stores to try to purchase shells from. 7/8 oz are fairly scarce on store shelves(can't tell you when I have even seen any!), the majority of big box stores wll have limited selections of the various 4 pack 1 1/8 loads (I personally shoot the Walmart 1 1/8 Federal because in my mind they are milder than the other offerings & they smell better!, the winchesters & Remingtons seem to be harsher recoilers). 1 oz loads seem to be loaded fairly hot, especially Game loads. Federal makes a decentish 1 oz. cheapy (again I asked & my local Walmart carries a few boxes of these), there are Top Guns,Gun clubs, Estates, Remington Game loads, Winchester 1 oz Game loads most of which seem to be loaded for maximum recoil.

I am not one of those who reloads for the love of it. I consider it a chore, BUT to get a nice patterning load that is easy on your shoulder, you should consider reloading. Buy a quantity of any of the big name shells (AA, Gold Medal, STS) shoot them up & build the load you want by reloading them.

If you get hooked on this game, you will find yourself either buying a lot of shells or reloading a lot of shells. Hopefully you can find either a decent supplier of components & develop a love of reloading or find a store that will carry what you want. I have been dissapointed repeatedly in chain sporting goods stores & gun stores that have shelf after shelf of shells that don't fit my needs & don't have much interest in carrying what I will buy.

I should also mention that I can not blame any target that I have missed on the amount of money that I spent on the shells. When you are on the target cheapies break targets just like premium shells. When you are not on the target premiums miss just like cheapies.

7/8 oz Kemens are readily available from several different distributors. The key is getting someone to order them for you. They are Kemen 24 extras 7.5, 8 or 9 shot 1325 ft\sec. On ata I shoot 9's from 16 modified choke and smoke em like a camel. Just my opinion.

Edited to say If your in or around middle TN I'll spot you a box. The local shop will order them.

Jill, Win. AA makes a new shell that has been out for some time. Its called there low noise low recoil, or something close to that. It is a pretty hard load to find. Only will find it the bigger stores that carry alot of shell choices. Most times they sell them for the same price as the reg. shells, sometimes they are priced abit higher. Either way they will be harder to find and you will not find many shells at any single store to buy. These are very nice loads for youth and lady shooters and will break targets from the 16 yard line with no problem. These loads will not cycle most autoloaders as they are 980 fps with around 7/8 oz. of lead. Not sure if its 24 grams or 28 grams something around those lines. I have found these loads at local Walmart that carries AA's and at Bass Pro Shops around here. The local Walmarts had them on sale about a year ago for like $5.00 a box. I think they were moving there stock off the shelves. So they may not be selling them anymore.Rem. has one out that is basically the same load as well. Stay away from the cheapies as they load them up with powder and make some hard recoiling loads. So its pay premium prices for Rem's or Win's or load them yourself if you like these loads. If you buy new ones you can sell the once shot hulls hulls to get some of your money back. Rem's about .04 cents and Win. AA,s for about .03 cents apiece. Hope this helps you out. Break-em all Jeff

Thank you for all your help. I just found the Win. AA today at Walmart. They are advertised as low recoil, low noise. The VPS wasn't listed but it is 24 grams. I just figured I would buy a couple different boxes and see what I like. How do I know which shells I can reload, or all of them reloadable? Does it depend on the reloader one has? Jill

You can reproduce the performance of the Winchester low recoil, low noise shells using Winchester Featherlight powder. The data is on Hodgdon's website.

I toyed with this load, and it breaks targets just fine. Very light recoil. Takes a little getting used to if you are accustomed to shooting shells with a higher muzzle velocity, but the learning curve is not bad.

If you think you're going to reload then as a new reloader I would stick to just one hull at first. Pick up any empty hull at the club that says Remington on it. I think you would have the least problem with this hull as a new reloader than some of the rest. After you get used to reloading this one and gain more knowledge then you can certainly branch out.

When I reload I shot nothing but 1oz loads. You get 400 per bag when reloading 1oz and 375 when reloading 1 1/8 oz. 7/8 oz loads is just cutting you short in practice. Go with the 1 oz and you will be happy.